Separatist Group Behind Railway Station Attacks On China

Chinese authorities have said that members of a banned terrorist group namely The East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which is hiding out in Pakistan or Afghanistan is behind the attacks on civilians in the railway station in Urumqi.

Urumqi is the provincial capital of China’s western Muslim-majority Xinjiang region and the group is pushing for the independence of Xinjiang’s native Uighur ethnic group.

The region has often witnessed ethnic clashes between the Uighurs and the Han Chinese migrants in the region which have left hundreds dead and several others injured.

Authorities believe that its members are hiding out in regions close to the border with Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), but didn't explicitly blame Pakistan because of their close “all-weather” strategic ties.